Dark Horse Comics wait for Joss Whedon's next move.
An ambitious new approach is planned for the Buffy comics but input from Joss is critical.
Out of interest would anyone here like to see Joss write post season 7 Buffy stories for Dark Horse comics?
September 09 2003
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Oddjob | September 10, 00:39 CET
Willowy | September 10, 00:50 CET
Caroline | September 10, 00:52 CET
I bet Joss has some idea of what happened after Sunnydale went down the plughole.
Simon | September 10, 01:48 CET
Willowy | September 10, 01:59 CET
samara1 | September 10, 02:08 CET
Simon | September 10, 02:13 CET
barry | September 10, 02:49 CET
Wouldn't you think, though, that the Fang Gang would at least talk about it right off? I'm of the feeling that they must address it earlier than ep 6, it just hasn't been spoiled.
Guess we'll find out soon enough!
Willowy | September 10, 03:08 CET
The show has always been about Buffy, and the comic book would not disappoint, but a monthly series that from the very beginning decides to stand on its own and focus on telling a story, would have more room to explore the entire city and all the people in it. Buffy would still be the center of the universe, but we'd have a chance to see so much more of what revolves around her.
The art would be stylized like the animated cels we've seen, but have more depth and complexity, since it's a comic book and not twenty-six frames a second. Buffy never goes to L.A. The movie never happened. The Summers ladies move to Sunnydale because Joyce is divorcing Hank and thinks the men stalking her daughter were hired by him. What Joyce doesn't know is the surveilance is courtesy of the Watchers Council. Buffy hasn't been called yet, and she's only one of several potentials that the Council is watching. She's not expected to be called because by their calculations the other candidates they're watching have a better chance, so when she is called, the Council flounders and are caught by surprise. Giles is NOT supposed to be the next Slayer's watcher. He was given the librarian gig by Travers to keep him out of the way, so when Giles ends up being in the catbird seat all the sudden, neither he nor the Council are very pleased but Giles does rise to the occasion, and against his better judgment becomes the liason between the Slayer and the Council. Their relationship begins even more strained than in the tv series, but it doesn't stay that way.
Dawnie? We'd see her at the very beginning. She's still The Key, but her origins would go back further, and the whole Key business wouldn't manifest for years. It'd happen very differently. Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles would become the core, and the first couple issues would focus on how the four of them meet. But everyone, and I mean EVERYONE that we've seen in the past seven years would exist in Sunnydale simultaneously. The Scooby gang would be more diverse and more complex, with everyone from Oz to Jonathan to Tara to Wood all intertwined and in the mix simultaneously. So Sunnydale from beginning to end feels much more vibrant and detailed.
Characters that were one-offs the first time around would last a lot longer. Marci would start as a friend of Willow's, but when Buffy comes into the picture, even Willow begins to ignore her. Willow would have already been experimenting with magic, when she discovered that her secret crush Ms. Calendar was a technopagan. Yes. Willow would always be gay. Never interested in Xander as more than a friend. However, Willow wouldn't be out of the closet and would think there was something wrong with her. BOTH Oz AND Tara are in the picture at the same time. Xander & Cordy would have a love hate relationship that had more history to it. The swim team would also have a history, and the fish thing wouldn't just erupt for one episode. It'd be a gradual series of discoveries. We'd meet Coach Marin and Nurse Greenleigh and they'd be around for awhile before the events of "Go Fish" took place. Amy wouldn't be a rat for three years, but she would have that problem with her mom, and then there'd be the witch . Since we wouldn't have to worry about casting, the writers of the comic book series could bring any of them in whenever they wanted.
The Master would start trapped in the Hellmouth. Darla, Spike and Dru would be there with Luke and others to support The Master, and Angel would be "encouraged" by a couple mysterious guys named Doyle and Whistler to try and stop them, but Angel wouldn't have the guts to do it alone, until he sees a squirrely little cheerleader risking her neck to save the planet, and her courage would turn his whole world around.
Spike would secretly be conspiring to have Luke killed at the hands of the Slayer cuz Spike thinks Luke's a geek, and is jealous that The Master doesn't make Spike top dog. Spike would start a LOT more intense and unpredictable than even School Hard, but Dru would ultimately hold his reins. The two of them together would be incredibly formidable. There'd be more of a triangle between Angel, Darla and Buffy. The Mayor would be the mayor from day one so he'd be keeping things interesting throughout Buffy's tenure.
Buffy? Dies in issue one at the hands of The Master. Xander brings her back to life with CPR. So Kendra enters the picture soon after. Dru doesn't just kill Kendra but turns her into a vampire. Faith and Buffy meet for the first time by issue ten.
The Initiative has been underneath Sunnydale University for a very very long time. At least since the end of the Cold War. Walsh's project has been ongoing, and the government has secretly been purposefully keeping Sunnydale's unique qualities hush hush because much of America's success with the end of the Cold War can be attributed partly to lessons learned from Sunnydale. When Buffy enters the picture, Walsh has Agent Finn enroll in Sunnydale High under false papers as a senior, and he starts keeping an eye on the young cheerleader. Meanwhile, at Sunnydale Hospital there'd be an intern named Ben who became a friend of the Scoobies, and was perhaps seen in some ways as a Scooby himself. Perhaps even he and Giles would over time become aquaintences, but then one day Glory would show, and events similar to what we saw in tv Buffy season five would begin, along with everything else going on.
Buffy starts as a member of the Cordettes and that lasts a little longer. However, Buffy also makes fast friends with Willow, and Xander by proxy. When Cordy discovers this, she makes Buffy choose, and Buffy chooses Willow over Cordy, which makes Cordy and Buffy mortal enemies. The whole social pariah thing would take more precedence in the comic book. I mean we'd see it more. Buffy having to save the world over dating or making cheerleading practice or hanging out at the mall, we'd feel the weight of it more. And she'd have more to combat and more to juggle, because there'd be several plot arcs to contend with simultaneously, and enemies who'd discover one another and interact. Her rogues gallery would revolve a lot faster and the variables would keep both newcomers and old veterans guessing.
The problem the past comic books have had is that they're trying to adhere to the continuity of the tv series. I say now that the series is over and it's self-contained, it's time to break out of those limitations and have a comic book series, or perhaps an entire line of comic books stand alone and explore the world Whedon has created, but this time have all the variables in play simultaneously. I think the result could be even better than the original series, if the right creative talents are behind it. I'd buy them, if they captured the essence of the characters but revisited the story fresh.
Sorry this got so long. =)
ZachsMind | September 10, 05:59 CET
I'll be happy to follow.
Unitas | September 10, 09:11 CET
wren | September 10, 17:50 CET
Zach'sMind, we can't forget Sunday. There's never been another female vampire like her on the show. Imagine how great she'd be in the comic. BTW, LOVE your take on the comic. Why don't you write it? Fanfic at least?
Willowy | September 10, 18:56 CET
i am so there! i really really want to see more of how dawnie fits into the history. you can't hear her scream in the comics. :)
leenah | September 10, 19:29 CET
As for why I don't write it, I've done my share of Buffy fanfic and tho I love exploring the universe Whedon created, it just leaves me kinda empty. Dunno why. Guess for all that effort there's nothing I can claim for myself.
ZachsMind | September 10, 19:35 CET
Remember when they were talking about having a Monday, Tuesday, etc... so the actress could keep coming back (playing evil vamp septuplet sisters) and Buffy could stake 'em one by one? Woulda been pretty cool. Another favorite villain? Webs. Glad the actor is on AtS now, but its not really the same, is it?
Willowy | September 10, 22:12 CET
ZachsMind | September 11, 01:13 CET